PREVENTING AND REDUCING MULTIPLE RISKY BEHAVIORS AMONG ADOLESCENCE BY ENGAGING ADOLESCENT IN COMMUNITY-BASED PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH

Background and Aim : Taking risks is fairly common in adolescence. Yet, risky behaviors can be associated with serious, long-term, and – in some cases – life-threatening consequences. This is especially the case when adolescents engage in more than one harmful behavior. The tendency for risky behaviors to co-occur has been well-studied. However, prevention efforts traditionally have taken a targeted approach, seeking to prevent a single risky behavior. A more powerful and cost effective approach may be to employ strategies designed to address factors associated with multiple risky behaviors. Methods : We describe a multi-method case study of community-based participatory research project in area of downtown Zanjan. Intervention is designed in multi-stage process to promote problem-solving skills, social action, and civic participation among adolescents. Consist of program focuses on identifying and building teen capacities and strengths as a means of ultimately decreasing rates of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use and other risky behaviors. The method used in this paper is collaborative community-based research which is more in line with the local development model. Therefore, in a non-randomized trial before and after the intervention Prevention and reduction of community-based high-risk behaviors of adolescents were evaluated and their impact assessed. This process was carried out with the participation of some members of the community Results : The article discusses the conceptual models of risk and intervention and factors contributing to successful social action work, including group dynamics, intragroup leadership, facilitator skills, and school-community contexts. The results show that the program produced positive effects on teenagers.Conclusion : Attention is focused on how the nature of the projects themselves played a key role in determining the likelihood of experiencing success.Implications and recommendations for other youth-focused empowerment education projects are discussed.

Keywords:

Adolescence , community-based participatory , high risk behaviors , social action